Last week marked the beginning of a long-awaited and bittersweet chapter at the farm. While we have been excited to start this renovation process, change is never easy. Although I, Kristin, understand what needs to be done in this first stage – relocate electric, secure permits, dismantle the barn, I’m not playing an active role aside from helping here and there and making sure the house is emptied and moved over either into storage or into the Mini Manor, our temporary home. All while managing life and doing my best to minimize chaos in an already chaotic time!
To start, Grady & his friend Mason tackled the not-so-glorious task of removing the metal from the old barn. This barn has been here, in this spot, since the beginning. All the photos I’ve seen of the farm, whether they were aerial photos, county records, or family photos – this barn has been here. It used to be called the blue barn because apparently, it used to be blue when Luke was a child. Can you guess the look of confusion on my face when he & I first started dating and he would ask me to grab something from the blue barn while I stand amidst all white barns?
At the same time Grady was taking care of the blue barn, Luke was getting the temp electric set up. Our contractor made the process relatively easy to set up the new panel, and it helps that Luke is experienced with all of this, so he was able to do most of the prep work on his own. We need electricity & water to serve the cattle barn during this whole reno process so new lines needed dug and conduit laid. In came Huelskamp Excavating to help with this part. They have been invaluable not only now, but since we began raising cattle and building barns. The expertise and experience Scott and his crew and family have is top notch and we’re thrilled to be working alongside them.
Later that day, one of our friends joked with Luke offering suggestions on how to fix a mole problem because honestly, after all the trenches were dug, it looked like we were attacked by a family of giant moles! The trenches ran in every direction from the new panel to the hay barn, the garage, the new house location and the cattle barn, all the way up to the access pole. It was fun to watch and see what they dug up in the process! Once everything was put into the trenches, Grady worked on backfilling everything. Now, we wait on our electric provider to flip the switch, which is hopefully this week.
Once the electric was unhooked from the blue barn, it was time to demo it. This was bittersweet.
Although I only know bits and pieces of this barn’s history, I know there is a lot of history in this building that goes back to when Luke was a child, and even before. I know he spent a lot of time in here with his Grandpa raising and caring for sheep and more recently, I know of the hard work he put into it to get it ready for us to raise cattle. I helped him prep it, clean it, set up gates and welcome our first herd back in 2018. If Grammie were still here, I know she’d have stories to fill these blog pages a hundred times over. She rarely showed emotion, but I believe she would’ve shed a tear watching this barn come down. I wish I did a better job learning about these stories while she was still alive. But despite this, I know it’s important to not only acknowledge the history of this barn but also to honor it by being mindful of the gift we’ve been given during every single step of this process.
We again had help from the Huelskamps with demo, drone footage (thank you Grace!) and clean up. As we paused to reflect on this week, one thing became clear: it was a lot. We are tired, but deeply grateful. Grateful for healthy bodies that power us through 15-hour days. Grateful for helping hands and good friends. Grateful for the breaks in the rain that allowed us to press forward. And most of all, grateful for the opportunity to preserve this land and build something new on the roots of our past. Our goal remains the same—to honor the legacy of this place while making room for the next generation to grow, gather, and thrive. Every step we take, we do so mindful of Grammie, Bobbup, and all those who came before us, who made these rolling acres possible.
So exciting for the Allen family !